Pan for Gold

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How to Pan For Gold

When you pan for gold you are going to want a gold pan Next, you'll want some dirt (with gold in it) to put in your pan. Last, you need some water to do the panning in. To find the gold-bearing dirt check out Where to Pan for Gold or get yourself some Pay Dirt. Pay Dirt is best to practice with at home and you can use a tub to make sure you don't loose anything.

If you are out panning through dirt on a creek you should have a 1/2" (or #2) classifier to filter out the larger rocks and make your gold panning easier. If you are panning a bag of pay dirt you shouldn't have to worry about large rocks.

1. Put some dirt in your gold pan, but not too much, start small.
2. Completly Lower your pan into a tub of water.
3. Shake your pan in the water to turn your dirt 'soupy'. Don't spill any out yet.
4. Tilt your pan slightly and wash water in and out, dirt should be carried out with the water.
5. After washing out some dirt, level out your pan again and shake it some more.
6. Repeat this process until just the heaviest black sands and gold remain.
7. Swirl water across the black sands and tap the edge of your pan to help seperate the gold from sand.

Gold Panning takes practice to get good at but it's a fun and rewarding activity. Click on the videos below to watch some gold panning in action.